Dearborn Charter Commission’s decision on wards was the right one
June 9th, 20230 By Abed Hammoud The Dearborn Charter Commission voted this week to leave the city as one ward for purposes of City Council elections, effectively rejecting the idea of dividing the city into wards. On final reading, the vote was overwhelming, with opposition from only one member of the nine-member commission. Residents pushing for a...
Syria stands alone in healing its wounds from devastating earthquake
February 10th, 20230 The dawn of February 6, 2023 will be recorded as a typical tragedy that befell the peoples of the eastern Mediterranean, or to be precise, part of their peoples. The fear and panic, despite their magnitude, can’t be compared to the horror and devastation of being buried under the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings. It is an...
Michigan voters hand Democrats historic victory, deal a blow to the MAGA movement
November 11th, 20220 The midterm elections shocked most observers and political experts throughout the nation. While Republicans gained a few seats in the Congress, and may perhaps still win the majority there, nothing like the widely predicted "Red Wave" came to fruition. The Senate is still up for grabs, and Democrats scored a number of major victories...
Michigan Election Day guide and endorsements: Who deserves our vote
November 5th, 20220 Michigan's midterm election is on Tuesday, Nov. 8, and among the races at stake are for governor, secretary of state and attorney general. There are also three ballot proposals that could change the state's constitution, all 13 seats in the U.S. Congress and all the State House and Senate seats. The midterm elections will likely...
Our endorsements for Nov. 8: Don’t let bigotry and misinformation divide our community
October 21st, 20220 The November election is around the corner, and because of ongoing and unprecedented attacks on civil liberties and democracy itself, we cannot emphasize its importance enough. We know these elections will not occur in a vacuum. Recently, the nation turned its attention to our community once more; but sadly, this time it wasn’t due...
Dearborn must embrace diversity, inclusion and freedom of expression
October 14th, 20225 By now, just about in everyone in Dearborn is aware of the book banning saga in the Dearborn Public Schools. A number of concerned citizens and parents have voiced their objections to the presence of certain books in school libraries, namely books that explore LGBTQ+ themes and lifestyles. Undoubtedly, parents should have a say in the...
38 years of being the loudest, clearest and the bravest voice for our community
September 11th, 20220 As we quietly marked the 38th anniversary of our establishment on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, we can’t help but reflect on the challenges we’ve faced, the advancement we’ve achieved and the issues we’ve reported on and overcome together as a community. Running a media publication has always been difficult, challenging and...
Our endorsements for the August 2 primaries
July 31st, 20220 As a rule, primary elections do not enjoy the same attention that voters give to general elections, but party qualifiers are — in some races — so decisive that the general elections seem to be a foregone conclusion, and this applies to the fullest extent to the primary elections on Tuesday, August 2. It is a fact that the...
Stand for Palestine and Shireen Abu Akleh
May 14th, 20220 - Amer Zahr is a law professor at the University of Detroit Mercy and president of New Generation for Palestine On Wednesday morning, in the occupied Palestinian city of Jenin, Israeli occupation forces assassinated Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Since 1997, Shireen has been the face of Palestine for Al-Jazeera, the...
Clerks Garrett and Darany: Get the translation done
April 16th, 20220 On March 22, the Dearborn City Council unanimously passed a resolution requiring ballot translation to any language spoken by more than 10,000 residents (or 5 percent of the population, whichever criteria is met first). The resolution also calls for implementation to start as early as the August primary election. This was a historical...
A long journey to a “historic” election
November 5th, 20210 This week, headlines regarding Tuesday’s election across local, national and international media included some version of the word "historic." Not surprising when one takes into consideration that three Arab American candidates in some of the state’s densest cities enjoyed landslide victories for mayoral races: Amer Ghalib in...
Let us make history on November 2
October 30th, 20211 Elections are always important. That is why, in every election since its inception, The Arab American News has encouraged the Arab American community to be involved in the decision-making process and to show up to vote and run for public offices. This local election is no different in terms of importance, but it is also unique in the...
Why we chose not to endorse either candidate for Hamtramck mayor
October 30th, 20210 Endorsing candidates for important offices is a major responsibility for local organizations and newspapers. For an ethnic newspaper, the voice of the community we advocate for has to be taken into consideration, as should the issues that affect it the most. But decisions on endorsements cannot simply come about with a superficial...
Dearborn, beware of rumors, haters and dividers in this election season
October 23rd, 20210 As much as we all hope and work for better outcomes, it seems as though Dearborn cannot have an election season without anonymous and false attacks and rumors. For the last few days, some individuals have been circulating on social media and through chats what they claim is a statement (in Arabic and English) issued by “Arab...
Lebanon: The accusations against Major General Abbas Ibrahim are malicious and politically motivated
July 25th, 20210 By Osama Siblani / Publisher One of the most unfortunate aspects of Lebanon’s continuing crisis is the way criminal investigations into major violent acts are handled. This has been the case since Lebanon was founded last century. Most of these investigations either did not occur at all, were done unprofessionally or were derailed by......
In Our Opinion: Palestine needs us. Let’s not disappoint her
May 15th, 20210 On Sunday, March 16 at 1 p.m., we will be gathering outdoors at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn for an important event, "the March for Jerusalem." This event will be sponsored by New Generation for Palestine, The Arab American News, Students for Justice at Wayne State University and many other...
“Right to travel”: Biden and Congress must keep their promises to Arab Americans
April 3rd, 20210 This week, a federal appeals court in Virginia enshrined the federal government's use of the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB). After a lower court ruling held that the TSDB's application deprived Americans, especially those of Arab and Muslim descent, the right to due process under the law, this appeals court declared that the right...
Reckless behaviors could lead to disastrous consequences
March 20th, 20210 In 2017, The Arab American News published a story titled “Local Yemenis feel marginalized as Lebanese brethren gain momentum.” In it, writer Hassan Khalifeh interviewed multiple Yemeni Americans in Dearborn and Hamtramck about their experiences of marginalization, and in some cases outright discrimination, by other more entrenched...
“An evening of unity” with a fascist criminal is shameful
October 16th, 20201 This Sunday, Michigan's top elected officials will be addressing and attending the virtual event, "An evening of unity", sponsored by Yeshiva Beth Yehuda, the self-described "oldest and largest Jewish educational institution in Michigan." Governor Whitmer, Senator Debbie Stabenow, Senator Gary Peters, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan......
Ilhan Omar’s signature is more than disappointing, it’s shameful
May 8th, 20202 This week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urging him to increase "diplomatic action by the United States to renew the expiring United Nations arms embargo against Iran and United Nations travel restrictions on those Iranian individuals involved...
Dearborn’s mayor should’ve been transparent about having COVID-19
May 1st, 20201 On Wednesday, Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly announced on Facebook that he and his wife were dealing with the coronavirus and the city’s many residents were happy to hear that they had recovered from the terrible virus, safe and strong. “Although I am a public figure, I am someone, like many of you, who values personal and family......
With justice and equality as central issues, Bernie Sanders is the best choice for president
March 6th, 20200 As of Thursday, there are now three candidates vying for the position of 2020 Democratic presidential nominee and on March 10, Democratic voters in Michigan will decide which of these candidates they want to lead the nation in the White House. The Arab American News has been fortunate enough to be the community's voice for more than 35...
After Whitmer’s visit, Benson’s trip to Israel is another slap in the face
December 21st, 20190 This week, another prominent member of the Michigan government, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat and public figure who has shown support for the Arab American community, with the community reciprocating that support, took a publicized trip to Israel. After the outrage sparked by last month’s Israeli trip by Governor......
